Deploying a Layer 4 (L4) through Layer 7 (L7) network service (e.g., a firewall, load balancer, etc.) typically requires the network operator to configure the network such that network traffic is guaranteed to pass through a specific network service appliance. Such is the case irrespective of whether the service function appliance is a physical device or virtual service. This configuration process is onerous and error-prone. Due to the distributed nature of the network configuration, an individual network device cannot verify or guarantee that traffic is not bypassing the specific network service appliance. Moreover, manually verifying the network configuration can be extremely difficult. Even when test packets are used to manually verify the network configuration, this verification mechanism does not scale with the size of the network. In addition, manual verification is typically only done reactively after a problem has occurred. This can lead to security and performance vulnerabilities, as well as extended periods of unintended network behavior.